We talked to Julie Clay, director of Food etc, a Community Interest Company which provides cookery workshops to disadvantaged people across Bedfordshire. Its growing team of volunteers uses cheap and nutritious food to show people how to prepare and enjoy healthier meals.

Hear from Liz, a trustee from Luton foodbank and learn about her experience as a trustee.

As part of our funding support, CVS Bedfordshire is working with funding website easyfundraising to help voluntary organisations, good causes and charities in in Bedfordshire and Luton to get additional income.

Here’s our pick of some of our most social volunteering roles. These roles offer you a chance to meet and connect with other like-minded people in a group setting. Get your hands dirty, make friends and have fun all whilst helping your local community.

Whatever your age, social isolation may be affecting you and volunteering could be a big part of the answer to solving this problem. So this month, we have sought out opportunities that might help anyone who wants to make new contacts with people and is happy to offer help along the way through volunteering to undertake specific tasks.

As part of our funding support, CVS Bedfordshire is working with funding website easyfundraising to help voluntary organisations, good causes and charities in in Bedfordshire and Luton to get additional income.

Luton Citizens Fund will open to applications on 21 September

Some volunteering opportunities from the CVS Simply Connect platform that will support families.

We look at the work being done by FACES in Bedford, to support local families and how volunteers are critical to their service.

If you are not sure whether volunteering is for you, or if you already have a lot of commitments and very little time, then a good way to offer your support to organisations is to try some one off volunteering opportunities.